Improvement in bee-hives



,41, having a double pitch top, as shownvclearlyin iig. 1. This `'oaseArests upon a`bottomboard,-B,` thc Ve being made in the ends of the capa, (seeltigs. l and VVB'yythisvnieans, it will be seen, a freecirculationof tates @strat @fitta l l i i ARTHUR GRAY, 0F REILEY, entre.

Letters Patent No. 71,381, dated Novemier 26, 1867; f l i IMPROVEMENT INBEE-RIVES. l

@In Segnale etant n' in time tetten @that ma uniting pnt nt tige-.nite

To ALL WHoM 1T MAYeoNenRN:

' Be it known that I, ARTHUR Gantz, of Reiley, in the county ofButler,`,and State of Ohio, have .invented I l a new and improvedBce-Hive; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact descrip-` tion thereofwhich will enable others skilled in theart to make and usc the same, reference being had to the t; t l

accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

This invention relates to a new and useful improvement in theconstruction of bee-hives, wherebyhthe temperature of 'the hive may he`rendered uniform, or-nearly so, that is to say, cool in'` summer` andwarm in wint-er; the hive also lcept in a eleanstate, and thebee-entrances rendered capable lot' being varied in dimens sions, so asto preventthe egress of the bees,iand still admit air for ventilation,and alsocontrol 4the escape of t ,l the drones, and admit ofthe freeegress andingress of the i workers, as may be desired. In the accompanyiC ing sheet of drawings- Figure 1 is a side view of a bec-hiveconstructed according-to my inventionT Figure 2, a vertical sectionofthe same, taken in the line :v z, tig. 1. l

`Figure 3, a horizontal section ofthe same, taken `in the liney y,tigQv-2.

` Figure 4, a vertical section of the lower portionot' the same, takenin the line z z.

Figure 5, a detached view of one ot' the entranee-slides.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts. 4 g t A represents'thoexterior caso of the hive, which may be ot' qnadrilateral form, andprovided with acap, x

upper surface of which is inclined two ways, from' the' centre downward,`as'shown in ig.42. i Within the case A there is 4placed another case,C,`which contains the` comb-frames D, a space, e, being allowed betweenthe d two casos, which communicates with the external aiib'ymcansofholes ,iu the bottom board B, vent-openings air is admitted through thespace c, and the hiveke'pt in a cool` state in summer, `while in winterthe hive may y, be kept in a warm state by lilling the space e with anysuitablelnonLcondueting material, such. as' straw, etc. The comb-framesD rest upon a strip, E, which is secured-to the-:uppersurface of thebottolnboardB, and i extends entirely across its two 'inclined'surfaceathe upper edgeotf-,thehstrip being in a horizontal plane, so that thccomb-frames may all be retained at-the sameiieigha, andfin. a properrelative position `with each other. This will be fully understood byreferring to iigs.'2 and 3.14 ',lli e st;rip alsolxfserves as a-.means`to allow the 1 bees to reach theeomb-frames with facility from thebottoinbeard- BL yInhives provided withsuspended frames, the bottomsrot' which are above the bottom boardthey are compelled to form stepsofwax to effect this end. l The inclined surfaces ofthe bottom board Brenderl thestripE neccssary,ns the frames would otherwise require t tobesuspended or rest at irregular heights on lsaid surfaces, whichwouldprovent .the escape `of filth from the ,l hive. The two sides ofthe hive, at their lowerends, have notchesfmade in them, atequal;distances apart, and over these notches a metal slide, F, is fitted insuitable guides g. These slides are notched alt one`edge, t as shown ath; the notches h corresponding in size to the notchosfin the hive. Y l iIt will be seen by moving the slide F longitudinallthe notchesfmay bevirtually enlarged or diminished, contracted sulici-ently to preventVtho-bees from passing out from the hive, and atzthe Sametime admit iair for ventilation. The opposite edges ofthe slides have one longnotch, z', made in them, as shownclearly in i ,t

fig. 5, and by inserting the slidces so that `the notches Will be inline with the notchesj', in the sides of the hive', tho drones will hekept in the hive, while the workers will be allowed to pass `freelyinand out, thenotches z' being of such a depthas to admit of that result,which is an `important one during the time of,` t

swarming.

What l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, iS i 1.Thecase` C, when placed within the case A, and resting upon the inclinedbottom B, to formthc chamt ber e, vsurrounding said case C, throughwhich chamberf the air passes from the openings d in theV bottom B to lthc openings e in the top a, nlfording constant ventilation, ae hereinshown and described. ,2. The adjustable slides F, fitted in the guide g,constructed as described, having notches hrupontheir lower sides, andthe long notch 1,' upon their upper sides, registering with ytheVnotchesfin the hive, as herein t p, described for the purposespecified, i i I V I ARTHUR GRAY, Witnesses: i i

JOHN W. Devis4 J. W. FRAY'JL.

